Safe And Sound
by TheRoarOfAtlas
Summary: For my Roman Reigns shots. Reigns/Reader so far, but never say never! God only knows what this will include. Enjoy! [x-posted to tumblr]
1. Chapter One: Careful

**!WARNING!:** Trigger warning for previous abusive relationship/brief mentions of attempted rape. This is blatant, gratuitous hurt/comfort. Enjoy!

* * *

When you woke up, you didn't want to move. The bed was soft as a cloud, the blankets and pillows comfortable enough to keep your eyes closed. _Am I in heaven?_ you wondered dreamily, snuggling back into the thick comforter. Something stirred beside you and your eyes flew open, panic like a bucket of ice water on your good mood and making you flounder in the blankets.

"Easy! Easy. Its only me." Roman soothed, his hands raised. "I just wanted to know if you'd like some breakfast."

"Oh...oh my god..." you wheezed, flopping back onto the pillows.

The man grimaced apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Then, "How do you feel today?"

Truth be told you had forgotten about the angry bruises on your body until right this second. When your boyfriend ( _ex-boyfriend_ you reminded yourself) had lashed out last night you could hardly believe it.

Neither could Roman, if his confused expression was any indicator when you showed up timidly on the threshold of his apartment.

 _...The Previous Night..._

"I'm so sorry, I know it's late." you mumbled, wiping at your nose.

"It's hardly ten. What's wrong? Are you alright?" his voice had a tinge of worry to it. He moved to put a hand on your shoulder and you recoiled violently. "Hey, easy..."

The tears came. You had done your fair share of crying in your car on the ride over and you'd hoped that you were done with it, but here you were. When you shoved your hood back to rub futilely at your eyes, Roman made a sound of shock.

"What happened to your face?" he asked, his motions slower when he approached you this time.

You shook your head wordlessly, curling into yourself as his hands barely touched your shoulders. Roman's voice cracked slightly when he spoke next. "Come inside, okay? Sit down. I won't touch you if you don't want me to. Just tell me what happened."

You allowed yourself to be wrapped in a battered afghan once inside the apartment. The story came out of you slowly, encouraged by the large, tattooed man pressing a steaming mug of tea and several Advil into your hands before settling himself onto the loveseat across from you.

The relationship had always been a little odd, your boyfriend always a little on the jealous side; overprotective and quick to anger. This wasn't the first time he'd hit you, but he'd never beaten you to this extent. You winced as you explained, knowing that you sounded like a sucker. "I expected him to change. I wanted it to get better. I guess this is kind of my fault for giving him so many chances."

"None of this is your fault." Roman said quietly, resting his forearms on his thighs and lacing his fingers together. The look he gave you was sad, but firm. "Never think that. You're worth a shit ton more than that. You _never_ deserve to be hit."

You sighed, staring down into the half-empty mug. "I just feel really dumb right now, you know? I feel like a silly little kid. I'm twenty-seven for fucks sake. I should know better than to stay with someone after the _first_ time we fight and they hit me. Never mind the fifth or sixth or fuck if I know."

Roman cocked his head to the side. "What happened tonight that set him off?"

"He doesn't like that I come over here once a month to play poker with you, Ambrose and Rollins," your eyes welled up as your boyfriend's angry voice came back unbidden. "He's never liked it but. I guess it was just something about tonight. He was already yelling when I got home from work so clearly he had it on his mind. It didn't take too long for him to start hitting me, and normally he gets tired out kind of quick so I just take it but he kept going and going-he started ripping off my clothes and I...struggled." You swallowed thickly. "I ran. I couldn't stay. I just got away from him, grabbed my phone and keys and fucking ran. I was so scared."

"I don't fucking blame you." Roman's mouth had tightened to an angry line, the man starting to messily shamble his hair together into the confines of an elastic band. "I...uh...I mean. Dean and I, and Seth, you know our poker crew. We've actually all been kind of worried about you. You showed up with a black eye a few months ago..." he trailed off.

You flushed, shame heating your face. "Yeah. As you can tell, I didn't walk into a door." you mumbled.

"Hey, it's alright. You were in a rough situation, and you were still trying to salvage it. That takes guts. I'm just glad you got out of it in essentially one piece." he said earnestly. "The boys are gonna be happy to know."

"I just don't know what to do. My lease isn't up for another eight months, but its kind of obvious I can't go back there. I'm in shock right now, my brain is going a million miles a minute and not doing anything worthwhile." Your laugh was a little hysterical. "I'm bruised all over and I'm pretty sure I was about to be raped. What the hell is wrong with people? What the hell is wrong with _me?_ "

Roman knelt in front of you, close enough to make you stiffen. His expression was gentle as he carefully pried the mug from your clenched fingers and then dropped his hands to his sides. "Listen to me, okay baby girl? If you need a place to stay, any of the three of us will take you in without a doubt. You can figure shit out as far as your lease goes tomorrow or the next day. You _will_ be safe here tonight. I won't let anything happen to you."

You closed your eyes, letting his sincere tone quiet your frantic brain. "Can... _can_ I stay here tonight? I don't want to drag the other guys into this now. It's so late." you said hesitantly.

Roman nodded, getting back to his feet. "Lemme swap the sheets on my bed, then you can tuck in. I'll pull out the couch and sleep in here. Closer to the door," he added, noticing your mouth opening in protest, "in case that shithead tries something."

"Thank you so much. Christ Roman, I'm so sorry about all this."

"Don't apologize for someone else being a piece of shit, alright? You'll get it squared away. You've always got a plan B."

…

Plan B was feeling more and more like a terrible idea as you stood on the steps of your own apartment. Ex-boyfriend's car wasn't there; you knew he had to work today. Roman had told you to wait on this until he or one of the other guys could accompany you, but you felt bad enough sleeping in his bed, never mind making one of them come along just because you were scared.

"Sheesh. What would Ambrose say if he were here?" you mused out loud in an attempt to calm yourself, unlocking the door and slipping inside.

" _Doll you got rocks in your brain for coming over here without any of us. What if something happens to you?_ "

You winced. Now you just felt guilty. You walked through the disaster that was the living room, heading to your shared bedroom. _Okay, a few pairs of socks, a few pairs of underwear. I need clothes. Can't borrow more of Roman's, that's rude._

You fiddled with the hem of the shirt you had 'borrowed' this morning. You'd found it folded on the bedside table and it had smelled okay, so you figured Roman probably left it there for you. Your stomach began to roll nervously as you started shoving clothes into your backpack. _The last time I was here-_

You stopped yourself with a firm shake of your head. _I'm already inside. Bad time to lose my nerve. I'm just taking some of my things and leaving again. No big deal. If I'm careful he won't even know I was here._

You stuffed your pack full to bursting with clothes and essentials like your phone charger, music player and toiletries. It settled onto your back with an air of finality. On your way out you took a picture of your landlord's contact information on the fridge, hell-bent on getting in touch with him about your lease. You felt uncommonly brave as you locked the door behind you, despite not having dealt with anything hostile in the apartment.

You were ambling to your car when someone hollering your name made you look up. Down the sidewalk a ways was your ex-boyfriend, breaking into a run.

 _Oh._ you thought stupidly, fumbling with your keys as you unlocked your car. You scrambled inside, slamming and locking the door behind you. "Shit." you grimaced, revving the engine and pulling out of your parking spot as carefully as you could with your heart slamming in your throat.

He slapped his hand against the right rear window before you managed to escape, the noise making you flinch and scream. Your fingers clenched into the steering wheel and you blinked back tears as you wove gingerly through the late-morning traffic. _I'm okay. Everything is okay. I'm fine. Nothing bad happened._ you tried to tell yourself, throat tightening threateningly. Your phone began to ring and you yelped at the sudden sound, scrambling to answer.

" _Where are you? Rome said you'd be at his place. Are you alright?_ " the tired, slightly-panicked voice of Rollins came over the line. Your guilt increased tenfold as you realized there was no good reason at all for you to have gone over there by yourself. Seth would have come with you; shit, Roman probably _asked_ him to.

"I went to get some clothes." you replied quietly. "I'm on my way back. I'm okay, Seth."

" _Christ sweetheart, you gave me a fucking scare._ " he sighed. " _You know as well as I do that Reigns_ and _Ambrose would have my nuts on a platter if anything happened to you. That and I have a personal preference for you being safe and whole._ "

"Seth he uh...my ex saw me. He ran after me. I don't know if he'll follow me at all but-"

" _Let him. I'll curbstomp his ass._ "

Sometimes you had to be reminded that your friends had endured their fair share of conflict and come out the other side of it in (mostly) one piece.

" _I'll keep a lookout for you, sweetheart. I worked the overnight, but I'll stay awake with you til' Dean gets here. Come on home._ "

…

Dean came strutting through the door at noon, remarkably subdued. Clearly Roman or Seth had spoken with him, because he didn't hug or touch you at all. You were incredibly grateful for that fact. Running into your ex earlier had put you even more on edge; every creak of the old stairs out in the hallway made your heart slam painfully in your chest. Once Dean arrived Seth crashed on the loveseat, asleep almost instantly. You envied him, wishing you could just sleep off the panic.

Ambrose finally got you to stop pacing around two. "Doll, you're gonna' make me motion sick. You want to watch a movie or something? I got my laptop with me."

"That's fine." you mumbled distractedly, checking your phone for the thousandth time. _Why hasn't he tried to contact me yet? I don't like this at all._

"You waiting for his sorry ass to threaten you with texts?" Ambrose was remarkably perceptive for someone with a few screws loose.

You nodded, biting your lip. Dean patted the couch next to him. "C'mere darlin'. Lemme' explain something to you." You settled down onto the couch and Dean threw that ragged afghan over your knees. Seth continued to snore on the loveseat, dead to the world.

"Doll, he knows he's lost his grip on you. You left, that's kinda' a good indicator of his hold slipping. Dumb as it was, you drove the point home today with that stunt you pulled." Dean mused.

"I wasn't trying to be brave or anything. I just felt bad dragging one of you guys over there too. I should be able to handle my own shit." you protested.

Dean held up a hand. "I understand why you did it. Doesn't mean we ain't gonna' worry. Of course, you going over there alone may have been a good thing. He might think he didn't scare you at all. Which in turn would scare _him_ into leaving you alone." He grimaced, rubbing the side of his head. "Lotta' thinking going on up here. I'll give myself a bleed. Look, the point is we have you covered no matter what, whenever you need us, alright? You aren't bugging us or annoying us or whatever you're gonna' tell yourself so you can have your precious pride." Dean's smile, as always, was lazy and slow, spreading from one dimple to the other with a sense of purpose. "What are friends for, if not this shit?"

You snuffled, pulling your knees up to your chest. Dean 'tsk'ed, his smile slipping a few notches. "The guys said you don't wanna' be touched, but I ain't so good at this hands-off comforting shit." he said gruffly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that bastard laying fists on you like that, darlin'. It ain't fucking right. And if he tries _anything_ , you know one or all of us will be ready for his sorry ass."

"Thanks, Dean." you managed to get out.

"Anytime, doll. Now dry that face of yours. We got fucking movies to watch."

…

Roman came home around nine. You were laying down, head on Ambrose's leg and your eyes closed.

Ambrose absently jittered his other leg and Seth mumbled in his sleep. Roman bumped Dean's shoulder. "Hey man. How is she?" he asked quietly.

"Tired, as you can see." Dean's voice was equally soft. "She's been like a live wire all day man. Jumping at everything. I told her we would be ready and waiting if that motherfucker shows, but I imagine she's had a shit time of it."

Roman sighed. "I'd better get her to bed."

"Are you gonna ask her to be your...uh." There was a flurry of motion over your head and you resisted the urge to crack an eye open. "Y'know." Dean said awkwardly.

"Fuck's sake Ambrose. She's been through the wringer, that's the last thing she fucking needs right now." Roman sounded annoyed. "She doesn't even want me to touch her. It's a bad idea. Have a sense of _timing_ , dude."

Your cheeks were on fire. You _definitely_ weren't supposed to hear any of that. Feigning a noisy yawn, you stretched and sat up slowly. "Hey Roman..." your voice was still husky. At least that part you didn't have to fake. "Welcome home."

Something flared in Roman's eyes and you wondered if you had said the wrong thing. Ambrose coughed behind you and Roman shook his head, a sad smile replacing...whatever that look had been. "Hey. How do you feel?"

"I'm okay. Thank you. You guys...shit. You've been so kind to me." You wrung your hands beneath the afghan. "I'm sorry I'm all fucked up."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Jesus Christ darlin', you could apologize your way out of a parking ticket. I told you before. We're here, whether you need us or not."

Seth jerked awake, eyes wild and flying over Roman and Dean to land on you. He relaxed, exhaling heavily as he pulled himself upright. "Christ. How long did I sleep for?" he slurred, squinting down at the screen of his phone. "Fuck. I'm due back at ten. You guys got this?"

Roman nodded, waving the bleary man off. "We'll take over Seth. Drive safe."

Seth struggled into his coat, shooting you a smile. "I leave you in capable hands, sweetheart."

…

You went into work the next morning. After a discussion with your boss, it was decided that you would stay off the register and away from the front counter. The day saw you quietly taking inventory in the back, occasionally putting another tray of scones into one of the ovens. You bundled up misshapen bagels and breads, sorting them evenly into bags for everyone to take home.

Your boss had a coworker, Bray, walk you out to your car at the end of your shift. Bray was huge, boisterous, and well-known for being a bit...out there. You always put a little extra into the bags of oddball product that went home with him though, knowing that he had a whole brood to feed and this wasn't his only job.

You were grateful for his presence when you saw someone leaning against your vehicle. You shrank back behind the apron-clad Bray, the large man bristling while your ex-boyfriend pushed off your car and slowly walked towards the two of you.

"Oh good. Another deceiver come to taste my fists." Bray rumbled. "I assure you, tiny man, they are as delicious as they are true."

"Shut your fucking mouth, you overgrown hick." your ex snapped. "Hun, when are you going to come home so we can talk about this like civilized adults?" he said to you, tone abruptly going syrup-sweet.

You were paling rapidly, breath coming in pants as your brain flooded with the memory of him standing over you laughing, tearing at your clothes...

"S-s-stay away from me!" you yelled, balling your hands into fists and mustering what strength you had, willing your knees to stop shaking. "Leave me _alone!_ "

Your ex took a step back, seeming surprised. Bray snorted. "Scatter, wolf. And keep away from my flock next time, lest ye perish when my sheep grow fangs." he grunted, pressing his advantage to shoulder the smaller man out of the way so you could reach your car safely.

"Don't touch me, you filthy freak!" your ex-boyfriend yelled angrily. "Hun, wait-!"

You slammed your door shut, his voice reduced to a quiet buzz. You breathed deeply for a moment, watching in morbid amusement while Bray toyed with the other man. You knew Bray wouldn't do anything _too_ bad to him, he couldn't afford to lose this job. But as you left the parking lot, you couldn't help but watch in the rearview while your ex ran to his car and Bray stormed after him.

A weird sound like a mixture of a laugh and a sob came out of you. You had been so scared. And yeah, you'd hidden behind Bray. But...you'd still told your ex off. With your body shuddering and heart pounding, you told him off. You grinned, wiping your eyes as you eased into the perpetual traffic.

…

Roman was flustered upon hearing that your ex showed up to your workplace. He kept dragging his fingers through his hair while you talked, and you found the courage to finally take one of his hands in your own. "Hey." you murmured.

Weirdly, he flinched at the touch before squeezing your hand and then quickly dropping it. "I know you're scared of me. It's okay." Roman said, his voice quiet.

"Oh I'm scared. I'm scared as fuck!" you insisted, making him fight back a laugh. "But I'm not scared of you. How could I be scared of _you?_ "

"Well I mean, when you showed up on my doorstep..." he trailed off, averting his eyes to stare at the floor with great interest.

"Oh god Roman, no no." you swallowed hard. "I just. I couldn't handle the thought of anyone touching me. I didn't want to get hurt again." the laugh that came from you was mirthless. "You guys have had to deal with having your asses handed to you time and time again; you've learned your own tricks and techniques to keep yourselves going. This was my first really legitimate asskicking. I'm not surprised that I reacted defensively."

"It's weird, thinking about it that way." Roman rubbed his fingers together distractedly, "I always assume that everyone else has had the same experiences with fistfights that I...that _we_ have. I barely remember any of my first fights, probably too many hits to the head. Seth might remember. Dean sure as fuck won't. If you think _I've_ taken a lot of head blows, imagine how many times he's been split open." He went quiet for several seconds. "I remember being flinchy. I couldn't stop shaking the first few times. It got easier."

"I know it'll get easier for me too. I'm so glad that you're here to talk with me about this." you said earnestly, resting a hand on his tattooed arm. He didn't flinch this time. "You've been so patient with me. Thank you, Roman."

"Hey, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you out, huh? I mean you even brought me home a whole bag of bagels and shit. What's not to like?" Roman jibed, making you laugh for real this time.

…

You wondered how you had missed it this whole time, even if you were dating someone else. Roman clearly had some form of affection for you that was _not_ platonic. And worse, the other two guys knew about it! You fretted while you washed the dishes in the sink.

 _How do I go about this? Do I even want to?_ Granted, you were at heart a social creature. You didn't do well alone. _I don't want to scare him off though_. If you were being honest with yourself, it wasn't like you'd never thought about it. The guys had played a few rounds of strip poker before, more for comedic effect than anything else and not actually involving you. You remembered with a sudden hot flush the way Roman had winked at you before getting to his feet and slowly pulling off his shirt to the cheers and wolf-whistles of the other two men, as well as your own laughter...

...and then the way he'd panicked when he realized he got his shirt caught up around his elbows and he couldn't actually pull it off the rest of the way. Dean and Seth (once they were done laughing) helped their friend yank it over his head, Roman's face gone an attractive strawberry-tan. He'd grinned ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck and joking that Rollins must have swapped out one of his favorite shirts with a smaller size.

You fought a giggle at the memory, rinsing the plate you'd washed. Dashing and suave, not so much. Funny and sweet, of course. Protective? _Do I even want someone protective anymore?_ A chill ran down your spine. _I mean there is a definite difference between 'protective' and 'possessive'. I hope I understand that a little better now. I feel like I do?_

You shook your head. "It doesn't do me any good, wallowing like this." you said aloud.

"What's up, sweetheart?" Seth called from the living room. It was poker night and he had arrived a little early, so he was helping you tidy the place up. Not that it was very messy, what with you having claimed the living room as your own. Roman had protested but you could see that he wasn't sleeping well, so you'd surrendered his bed and took up residence on the pull-out couch. You were relatively quiet, not to mention clean. Reigns joked that it was like living with a ghost.

You'd requested a release from your lease. It had gone through about three weeks ago, and you were (not very enthusiastically) hunting for a new apartment. You'd heard nothing from your ex since the day he showed up at your workplace, and you hoped that you and Bray had done a good enough job of scaring him off. The idea of having your own apartment was still terrifying though. There were nights when you had a hard time sleeping or woke up in a cold sweat from nightmares.

One particularly bad night had you shaking when you woke up, throat sore from screaming. Roman was kneeling beside the couch to wake you, his large form in the dark making you shrink back with a sob.

" _Easy! Easy baby girl. It's just me. Just Roman. I won't let anything happen to you, okay? You're safe here_." he soothed, brushing some tears off your cheek with his thumb. He opened his arms and after a moment's hesitation you accepted the offer of a hug, snuffling quietly. " _You're safe with me, baby girl. If he ever wants to hurt you again, he'll have to go through me._ " You vaguely remembered settling into bed, and Roman pressing a kiss to your forehead as you drifted back to sleep. You _might_ have imagined that part though...

You hid your face, ignoring the soap suds on your hands. _How am I this embarrassing?_ you wondered. _How do I even_ exist _like this?!_

"Sweetheart do you need...uh?" Seth came to a halt beside you, his cheeks puffing momentarily with the effort of stifling his laughter. "The um. Dishes giving you trouble?"

"No! No no, I'm just distracted is all." you said, hastily wiping your face off with the towel hung over your shoulder. You immediately regretted your choice of words when Seth's eyes lit up.

" _Oh?_ What might you be distracted by, hm?" he asked, sauntering around you to start putting the dishes back in the cabinets. You shrugged, trying to play it off. He nudged your shoulder, wiggling his eyebrows. "Come onnnnn, you can tell me! I promise I can keep a secret! Is it _Roman-_ tic related?" Seth grinned down at you, eyebrows still in full-wiggle mode.

"Christ Rollins, you'll give yourself whiplash with those things!" you giggled as the front door opened. "Calm down-!"

"Who's ready for poker night?!" Dean hollered, sidestepping through the door with a six-pack of beer in either hand. "Because _I_ am!"

"Ambrose! Nice of you to get here. Now. If only the guy who actually owns the apartment would make an appearance!" Rollins laughed, taking the six-packs and depositing them in the fridge.

…

Two hours later none of you were laughing. The three of you sat in relative silence at the table, Dean's nervous fingers tapping the only sound.

"Can...can you try calling him again?" you asked hesitantly. Without raising his head from its resting spot on the table, Seth pressed the brightly lit 'call' on his phone's touchscreen.

" _Hey there, you've reached Roman's phone. Uh. Leave a message_ -"

Seth sighed heavily and hit the 'end' button. "Where the hell could he be?" he griped, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

Dean looked to you worriedly. "Nothing from the ex, right darlin'?"

You hadn't even _thought_ about that. You almost dropped your phone in your haste to check it. "Nothing." While you were slightly relieved, the idea wormed its way a little deeper.

 _What if something had happened? What if your ex had gone after Roman? What if he knew the way Roman felt about you?_ Your lower lip quivered.

"Hey hey, don't worry! I'm sure he's fine, he probably just had to work late or something. I guess his phone is dead." Seth reasoned, elbowing Dean.

"Yeah, he's fine! What the heck could happen to _Rome?_ " the dirty blond agreed, rubbing his arm.

You just stared into your lap, the tears welling up faster as your brain whirled through scenarios. Each one more sinister than the last. "Guys I...I think I like Roman more than I should." you admitted quietly. "A lot more. He's...he's been so kind to me a-and if something happened to him b-b-because of m-me I-!" you hiccuped, the words too choked by sobs to get out.

"Doll I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that...I mean, I'm pretty sure Roman would whip that guy's ass anyhow. Don't cry darlin', c'mon." Dean rambled frantically, but the damage was done. He wrapped you in a hug, comforting you the only way he knew how.

Seth started pacing, yanking at his hair. "What the fuck could have happened. Where the fuck _are you_ , Roman?!" he growled.

There was a tap at the door and Dean jerked in surprise, releasing you. Keys jangled outside, a muffled swear. Seth wrenched the door open and there on the doorstep, keys in hand and vaguely surprised expression on his tired face, was Roman.

 _He's okay._

"Where _HAVE_ you been?! _Explain_ yourself, Roman _fucking_ Reigns!" Seth's voice whipped up and cracked with indignation.

Roman raised an eyebrow, taking in the furious looks of his two friends. "I had to work later. Covering for Ziggler again. I thought my text got through before my phone died. I'm assuming it didn't...?" He trailed off when you drew attention to yourself by sniffling.

"You had our sweetheart over here all worked up; she thought something had happened to you!" Rollins yelled, making you flinch. "Shit, we _all_ did! Fuck's sake Rome, you scared us!"

When Seth got upset he reminded you of an angry parent, very 'I'm-not-mad-I'm-disappointed'. It worked on Roman though, the taller man bowing his head. "I'm so sorry guys, I wasn't thinking. I kinda' forgot about that, y'know? I mean its been a few weeks since anything dumb happened. I thought we were good." he said earnestly, yanking off his coat and dropping it on a chair. "Baby girl I'm sorry I-"

" _I was so scared!_ " your voice exploded out of you, making Dean take a step forward in worry.

"Gently doll, it ain't his fault he's a little soft in the brain." he joked weakly.

Roman shook his head at him, reaching for you. His large hand closed carefully around your wrist and he gently tugged you into an embrace. "I'm alright, baby girl. I know how it is when your mind just goes to the worst thing, but I think the worst is over." he murmured against your hair, "I'm okay. It's kind of nice to know you'd at least be a little upset if something were to happen to me though." he tried to make a joke, making you narrow your eyes instead.

"You fucking _ass_ ," you hissed, "I'm a lot more than 'a little upset' right now."

"Take it easy Roman, she's kinda' been through a lot tonight." Dean raised his hands. "How about we all play a few rounds, drink a few beers? We _have_ been waiting on your ass, Reigns."

…

"I didn't mean to freak you out."

You rolled your eyes. "I know, Reigns. Eyes to your cards." you grumbled, clutching yours closer to your chest. He had taken it upon himself to rest his head against your thigh, not even really paying attention to the game anymore.

Roman looked up at you with a sad, slightly-tipsy smile. "I fucked up big time, eh? I kinda' felt like we had been making progress for a little while."

You attempted to ignore him, trying to focus on your cards. He continued on over you ignoring him. "I liked having you sleep in my bed. I mean yeah, the couch bed sucks, but it was worth it to know you were comfortable. I like having you here. I don't...I don't really want you to get an apartment." His stage whisper was god _awful_ , both Rollins and Ambrose looking up in disgust.

"Pitiful! You'd think a guy like _that_ would know how to work with the ladies!" Dean needled, laughing at the way Roman's eyes narrowed. "Of course, our doll ain't one for the pretty words of seduction. No, she's a lady of substance."

"Christ Ambrose." you snickered.

Roman stood up abruptly, stretching with a loud yawn. You couldn't help the way your eyes found the strip of bare skin between his work pants and worn t-shirt.

Across from you, Seth whistled slowly. "Maybe not..." he trailed off with a wink, making you blush.

"Guys I'm beat. I'm just gonna' head to bed. Sorry." Reigns slurred, already starting to fumble out of his shirt as he headed off down the hall to his room.

Once the three of you heard the door close, Dean leaped to his feet and slapped the cards out of your hand. "Oh no! Looks like I win! Well it's been fun and all, but I uh. Gotta' head home. Stuff to do!" he said in a rush, jerking his chin towards Seth and practically running out the door. Rollins hopped up, hastily struggling into his jacket and mumbling his own excuse for leaving.

He threw a "good luck!" over his shoulder as he closed the door behind him, leaving you sitting on the couch with your mouth slightly open, cards scattered on the floor. You lurched upright, not at all surprised when you found both of their beers hardly touched.

 _You little **shits**_.

But now. You were alone in an apartment with Roman. A tipsy Roman. And you yourself, somewhat tipsy. Somewhat braver than you would be otherwise...

A grin spread across your face. You could barely keep from giggling aloud as you scooped up all the cards and poured the open beers down the drain. You tiptoed down the hall, almost losing your nerve at the sight that met you when you opened his door.

He was sprawled out on top of his blankets, squinting up at his phone screen. His shirt had indeed been discarded along the way to the bed, the light from the hallway proudly displaying the complex inked patterns on his right arm and shoulder. You cleared your throat and Roman looked up, still squinting.

"What's up?" he asked, seeming somewhat flabbergasted when you flopped into bed beside him. "Uh."

"You scared the shit out of me today, Roman." You held up a hand when he went to say something. "Wait, please. Just. Let me talk. You didn't mean to. And I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. I don't know what I would do if something actually happened to you." You twiddled your fingers in your lap as Roman propped himself up on one elbow. "You're really important to me, Roman. You've been so patient and careful."

"Well yeah, we care about you, baby girl."

You shook your head. "I mean _you_ , not everyone. _You,_ Roman."

His smile was sad again as he laid on his side and looked up at you. "Watch it, baby girl. You can't just come into my bed and lay compliments on me like that. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you..." he paused, swallowing hard when you slid one hand beneath his ribs and the other over him, pulling him close in a tight hug. "...I'd say you uh, might be coming on to me. Or something." he finished weakly.

"Or something." you echoed, an almost stupid sense of power coming over you as you felt his skin jump under your touch. _I can do this_. _He's just as nervous as I am!_ "Would you be upset if I was?"

"Jesus, no. Just. Worried about tomorrow morning." Roman tried to come off as nonchalant, like his body wasn't giving him away with every shaky breath.

You smiled at him, brushing some of his hair back over his shoulder. "I'm not. Why would I be? I'll still be here, in this ridiculously comfortable bed. I'd like to hope you'll still be here as well."

Roman's eyes darkened at your words and he pushed you to lay on your back. He hovered over you, his face lighting up with a real smile through the curtain of his messy hair when you didn't flinch or cringe. "Baby girl, it's been fucking _torment_." he murmured. "Having you here, knowing that you're just a room away from me. At least I could keep you safe here, even if...even if I couldn't touch you. It was enough for my brain, you know?" He shook his head. "I remember when you came to play cards with us that time, your eye all fucked up. I should have known. I should have done something then."

"No one could have done anything. I had to leave on my own." you said gently, cupping his face in your hands.

Roman nodded in understanding. "I know. But you can't blame a guy for his hindsight. And wanting to bust that shithead's skull open." His voice dropped to a low snarl. "Wondering if he hurt you ate at me. I used to lay awake, brain running overtime to give me these ridiculous scenarios of what was happening to you. Y'know, two in the morning thoughts." He pressed his forehead to yours. "Then you came to me. _Me_. When you were hurt. And I wanted to help. Even if I was too big or scary to help, I wanted to so badly. The fact that you let me help..."

His tipsy ramble ground to a halt and you watched in muted fascination as his throat worked against tears. You had no idea that he cared this much. You had no idea that Roman had _known_ how large his frame was, and how scary that would be to you. To the point that he was flattered that you'd 'let' him help in the first place. "You're the only one I would ever come to. Regardless of how big you are, regardless of how scared I am. You make me feel safe." you murmured.

A sob made his chest heave. "Shit baby girl, come on. I'm already half in the bottle, you don't have to say stuff like that." Roman protested, sitting back on his knees and wiping the tears off his face.

You laughed, leaning up with him and wrapping your arms around his neck. "What else could I say?"

Roman shook his head, cupping your face carefully. "You wanna' sleep? We can talk more in the morning, maybe?" his tone was hopeful. You nodded, unable to keep from smiling when he tugged the blanket over the two of you. Roman kicked his work pants off, lazily flinging them across the room. Then he snuggled up against your back, effectively spooning you. "Goodnight, baby girl."

…

A gentle kiss woke you the next morning, and you groaned. "Five more minutes. Don't make me go to school."

Roman laughed, continuing to press kisses down your neck to your collarbone. You stretched, arching into him with a content sigh. You smiled when you felt him already hard against your thigh, Roman gasping as you slid a hand down his torso to his boxers. You stopped there for a minute, mapping out the defined lines of his hips and loving the way his skin shuddered beneath your fingers.

"God..." Roman's hair was a curtain around your faces, the large man looking down at you with an almost reverent expression. He pulled back, settling onto his haunches and starting to tie his hair back. You smoothed a hand over the front of his boxers and Roman bit his lip, rumbling low in his throat and closing his eyes.

"I like your hair loose." you whispered, sliding his boxers down as far as you could.

"Oh?" his voice was breathy as he immediately stopped tying his hair up. "Why's that?"

"I like how it moves. How it looks," you shrugged, "it suits you."

"'Suits me', huh?" Roman yanked the hair elastic out and flung it to somewhere in the room, his hands landing heavily on either side of you. "Alright, baby girl. I suppose I'll humor you." His smirk was entirely different from his smile, his hair falling over his shoulders and making him look positively fantastic.

You smiled back up at him, taking his cock in your hand. He sucked in a breath through his teeth at the contact, hands latching onto your sides and hauling you up onto your knees with him. "Baby girl you are wearing _way_ too many clothes." Roman pointed out, tugging at your shirt teasingly.

"Mmm, you're right I guess. But I'm a little busy." you replied, fisting your hand around his cock and watching in slight surprise as he began to automatically thrust into your hand. Roman groaned, shaking his head and tightening his grip on your ribs.

"I'm too f-fucking wound up. I-if you don't..." his warning died as you released him, biting down hard on his lower lip when you took your shirt off.

"If I don't what?" you asked, sliding your pajama pants down to follow your shirt to the side of the bed. "If I don't...?" You shuffled nice and close on your knees before pressing your naked body against his, resting your head on his chest. Roman pulled in a shaky breath as he wrapped his arms around you, holding you for a minute. His cock pressed insistently into your belly, and you tapped the head of it with your index finger.

"Baby girl, I'm going to fuck the daylights out of you," Roman said calmly, "with or without you teasing me."

His quiet declaration made your breath catch in your throat and you looked up wide-eyed. "Yeah?"

Roman pressed your back to the mattress in one fell move, sliding his hands quickly down your body to raise your hips into the air. You squeaked, head reeling from how fast he had moved. Then you moaned loudly at the tongue that was gently teasing your clit. "Roman-!"

He had a firm grip on your hips, your knees over his shoulders like they belonged there. He released you briefly to shove his hair back out of the way, flashing you a stomach-twisting smile. "This okay?"

"Yes yes yes please-" your begging was cut off as he laughed and returned his mouth to your cunt, lazily licking you in long, slow strokes with the flat of his tongue. You threw your head back, barely believing that this was happening to you.

You weren't exactly difficult to get off in the first place, and you'd been waiting for this a little longer than you cared to admit to anyone. Except maybe one person, and he was busy doing everything in his power to end your wait. Just _that_ thought made your belly fill with heat. "Please please _please_." your voice rang out desperately, your whole body tense and waiting for one last little push.

Roman had you almost entirely off the bed at this point, supporting your weight with one arm and his shoulders. He reached up with his other hand to gently rub at your clit while still continuing with the long, careful licks of his tongue and you fell apart, shaking in his grip and whimpering as you came.

"Fucking hell." you gasped helplessly, arching as best as you could when he groaned and pressed his lips to your thigh.

"God, baby girl. All this, for me?" Roman seemed just as bewildered as you, his reaction more endearing than mood-breaking. You nodded furiously. "How did I get so fucking lucky?"

"I don't know but you'd better not let it go to waste." you mumbled, thoroughly enjoying yourself. You felt him grin against you before he pulled away again and let you back down onto the bed.

"I'm kinda'...I mean like I said, I'm kinda' wound." Roman apologized, his smile smug just the same.

You couldn't help but smile back, your eyes half-lidded. "I don't even care. I was promised a 'daylights out of me' fuck, you didn't specify a time limit."

"True. And that vagueness will probably save my ass." he mused, stretching full-length over you to reach the drawer of his nightstand. You gave his arm an appreciative stroke, making him look down at you.

"Thank you." you said quietly.

Roman's eyes softened and he put his hand over yours, keeping it pressed against his tattooed shoulder for a minute. "This is my armor. I use it to protect the ones I care about." His voice was gentle. "As long as you want me to, I _will_ protect you. I don't want you to ever be scared again." He pressed a kiss to your forehead, and carried on his mission in the nightstand drawer.

You swallowed hard, propping yourself up on your elbows to watch him roll on a condom. You loved the way he closed his eyes and tilted his head back as he did it, his motions lazy and sure. "I might have wanted to tell you that for a while." Roman paused, leaning down and kissing you hungrily on the mouth. "Feels good to finally say it." he continued breathlessly, slowly sheathing himself in your cunt.

Your eyes closed and you dug your fingers into his shoulders with a whimper. Roman instantly stopped. "Too much?" he gasped, his hands fisted in the blankets on either side of your head. "Say the word and I'll get the fuck off of you, okay?" His voice had a ragged sound to it that made you shiver.

"I'm good, I'm fine. Normal reaction, sorry-" you managed to get out before he started moving. Jesus Christ, he hadn't been lying when he promised he would fuck the daylights out of you. Every motion was like a calculated attack on your arousal, and when his mouth pressed against your ear you couldn't help keening out in delight.

"Baby girl, baby girl. You have no clue what you do to me." Roman growled, snapping his hips up into you. "You make me a lion, you make me fucking ravenous, you make me so damn _scared_." His facial hair rubbed against your cheek as he spoke quicker. "You can bring me to my knees with one fucking look. Your smile makes me the happiest bastard alive. The fucking things you fucking _do_ to me."

" _Roman_ -!" you moaned, making him tense up and shudder.

"My name sounds damn fucking good, coming from your mouth." The heated, dirty words pouring out of him did things to you that you hadn't anticipated. You didn't normally cum again so soon, but Roman was hardly playing fair. "I'm yours, I'm all fucking yours baby girl. And I'm gonna' cum. So p- _please_ -" Roman's voice hitched, and the way he helplessly buried his face in your neck and cried out tipped you over the edge with him.

"Jesus." he shuddered, just staring down at you while the aftershocks rolled over the two of you. His arms trembled with the effort of holding himself up. "You look amazing like this."

"Trust me, its a mutual look." you replied, smiling sleepily up at him. "Be lazy with me this morning?"

"God, I thought you'd never ask." Roman laughed, collapsing back into bed beside you after he got up to get rid of the condom.

Rain pattered against the window as you snuggled into his chest, luxuriating in the feeling of safety. Warmth and comfort seemed to radiate from him as he wrapped his arms around you, yanking a light blanket up over the two of you as an afterthought.

You couldn't have asked for a more perfect morning.

* * *

 **AN:** I hope you enjoyed, and thanks again for reading!


	2. Chapter Two: New Year Part One

Unless it states it in the Chapter area, none of these will be related to one another. Thank you!

* * *

The cabin was buried in snow when you got to it, and you grinned to yourself. Four days of solitude. Four days of next to no one being able to get in touch with you and the peace of the mountain surrounding you.

Four days to welcome the new year properly.

More snow began falling as you stepped up onto the porch and shook yourself off, shifting your heavy pack. You floundered with the old lock for a minute in your thick mittens before it finally gave way.

You swung the door open, dragging your small supply sled piled high with firewood and a few other things into the main living area of the cabin. Whoever had been up here last had left a bundle of newspaper in the wood stove, and you wasted no time starting a little fire.

As night fell over the mountain and the cabin warmed up, you shed your damp hiking overclothes and hung them up to dry next to the stove. Clad in your most comfortable pair of pajama pants and placing your lantern on the rickety end table you recognized from last year, you curled up in one of the rustic chairs with the sleeping bag wrapped around your legs and a favorite book in your hands.

You didn't remember falling asleep. A loud bang woke you up with a jump, the book tumbling out of your hands to rest spine-up on the floor. Your brow furrowed as another bang rattled the door, and you glanced at your battery-powered alarm clock.

 _Its almost eleven o' clock at night. Who even in the hell?_

Picking up your backpacking hatchet you crept to the door and began undoing the two deadbolts. "Alright," you said loudly, "I'm armed, so no funny business!"

"P-Please-" Whoever it was, they were shivering hard enough to break up their words.

 _They must be damn near frozen, out on the mountain this late_ , you mused as you swung open the door. "Don't you know its dangerous up here, idiot?" you scolded, grabbing one of the man's arms and tugging him inside. "It's snowing like a bastard out there. They all out of common sense at the fucking kayak shop?"

"G-g-got. L-l-l-lost." the frozen guest mumbled through ice-coated facial hair, struggling with the buckles on his (obviously new) frame backpack. You hastily lent him a hand, popping the snaps with veteran ease.

"Alright bud, peel your layers and we'll hang them up to dry. Pack by the door after you brush the snow off it." you directed him, taking down your (mostly dry) clothes and laying them out on one of the four bunks built into the walls.

"O-k-k-kay." The man's fingers were slow and clumsy as he fought with the laces on his boots, which were new-looking as well. As a matter of fact, his whole setup ( _soaked_ through) looked like it had just come off a rack at Cabelas.

You rolled your eyes. _A fucking newbie lost, tonight of all nights. Good thing I was here, I guess._

"You got a death wish or something, buddy?" you asked, taking the man's black and gold coat and slinging it over the clothesline. The stove hissed as droplets landed on it.

"M-m-map. Got w-wet." New Arrival grimaced, unfolding what had once been a map and now more closely resembled wet tissue paper. All the ink ran together on the thing, staining his fingers green and blue. He plopped it down onto the table with a sigh.

"Looks like _all_ of you got wet, man." you gestured up and down, an amused smile crossing your face.

"R-R-Roman. M-my name's Roman." the young man offered a weak grin, extending his hand. "Th-th-thanks for l-l-letting me in and n-not killing me with your ax."

"Don't thank me yet, the night is still young." you teased, shaking his hand. "And its a hatchet, you fucking Philistine." His handshake was firm despite the shivering of his body, and he _certainly_ wasn't hard to look at. The ink wrapping around his right arm was impressive, in a word, never mind that _face_ and hair. You decided you liked Roman.

...

He was from Florida, which explained his lack of preparation. Didn't _excuse_ it however, and you said as much while sorting through his pack.

"Why the hell did you bring this much _food?_ You're at fifty pounds, easy." you asked in confusion, placing _another_ can of beef stew down onto the table.

"I got the lightweight sleeping bag so I could pack more food. This was supposed to be an endurance thing for me anyhow." Roman explained, drying his hair off over the sink with a t-shirt he'd brought.

"This 'lightweight' sleeping bag is only rated down to 40 degrees, dude. There's a reason it's lightweight." You continued pawing through his pack. "Where's your tent?"

"Tent?" He looked at you blankly while you tugged a large book out of the bottom of the bag. "I wasn't really gonna' do a tent."

"You were...oh no." you slapped your forehead with the book. It was one of those _highly_ impractical casual backpacker books, full of _incredible_ knowledge like _did you know moss grows on the north side of trees_ and _don't drink water straight from the stream_. "It's almost the _dead_ of winter, Roman. You can't be this dumb."

"What? I can build a lean-to, and a fire if I need it! I've got firestarter steel and everything!" he said defensively.

"Let's just be happy that you lurched onto my porch instead of up to the top of the mountain. Or worse, if you tripped in the dark and took the 'easy way' down." You tossed the book aside, brushing off your hands. "Do you have people that will be looking for you? Someone you can call?"

"No, my parents know I'll be gone for a few days. I brought my phone but I figured there wouldn't be any service up here."

"You figured right, buddy."

"Listen I...I'm really sorry about this. I didn't mean to interrupt your vacation and I'm sure you were just trying to relax and not have to handle some lost puppy greenhorn." Roman looked positively dejected and you relented.

"Hey, it's okay man. I don't know you or anything but you seem decent. I'm glad you're not in sixty pieces at the base of the trail for me to find when I come back down in three days, y'know?" you said, putting a hand on his arm. "If you promise not to murder me in my sleep _and_ help out around here with the chores, you can stay as long as you need to." you offered.

"You sure? I'd hate to be a third wheel. I'm sure when your friends get here they'll be really confused as to why there's a strange guy hanging around." Roman said hesitantly.

You chuckled. "No one else is coming up here to hang out with me, Roman. Unless there's more 'lost puppies' like yourself. I'm alone."

"Oh." His brow furrowed. "If I _could_ stay, at least overnight, I'd really appreciate it." he said finally, twisting his hands in his lap.

"I offered, didn't I?" you answered easily, getting to your feet. "C'mon, let's get you into a bunk."

…

The night passed quietly enough and you woke to a cold, blue dawn, well-rested. With a yawn you swung your legs off your bunk and got to your feet, shivering a little and shrugging into your sweatshirt.

Roman was still asleep, no doubt exhausted from his trek the day before. He'd mentioned it took him over six hours just to get to the cabin, a hike that should have taken three hours. He looked a little silly, bundled up in that paper-thin sleeping bag and his 'sporty' jacket.

You opted to let him sleep, starting the old propane cooktop in the kitchen to boil snow for the day. The wood stove in the main room and sleeping area still had a good amount of embers in it so you left it alone, setting the large pot of snow onto the cooktop and then shuffling through your supplies for your instant oatmeal and peanut butter.

"Mornin' boss." Roman was remarkably quiet for someone his size, startling you when he appeared at your elbow _still_ in that black and gold jacket. "What're you up to?"

"Breakfast, Roman!" you replied cheerily, waving a packet of oatmeal in his face. "Want some? I'll trade you two packets for a can of your beef stew."

"Make it three and you've got a deal." Roman's smile was sleepy, head cocked to the side and wavy strands of hair loose from his bun. You fought the urge to tuck his hair behind his ear, busying your hands with your mess kit instead.

After breakfast Roman lingered at the table, fingers tapping the surface as he looked outside at the sunrise. "December thirtieth. Tomorrow is New Years Eve. I wasn't sure earlier this year if I'd make it this far." he admitted.

"What do you mean?" you asked, sitting back down across from him.

"It's been a rough few months." Roman said quietly. "Lot of hard times. It's looking up now though. That's what the new year is for, right? New beginnings, better stuff."

"I'll drink to that." you said, making him laugh when you tapped your metal mug to his with a dull _clunk_. "To new beginnings! To a better year, a better you and a better life."

…

Roman seemed to have decided to stick around, watching with something akin to wonder while you chipped some wood into smaller pieces and prepared to take a hike up to the top of the mountain. "Can I come?" he asked finally as you laced up your boots by the door.

You rolled your eyes teasingly and got to your feet. "Layer up the right way and we'll see. Come on."

The sky was bright blue over the two of you as you locked the cabin and set off through the snow, pausing to let Roman gawk at the incredible view from the porch.

"This is amazing." he breathed, almost tripping down the stairs before catching himself. You tucked your hands into your pockets, waiting while he snapped a picture of the snow-covered pines with his phone.

"Ready, tourist?" you grinned, gesturing back to where the top of the mountain fought free of its collar of hardy pine trees.

The woods were quiet, trees creaking under the weight of the snow and birds chirping the only noises to be heard. You took a deep breath in and exhaled in a sigh of content. _This is what I came for_.

Roman came thundering through the snow behind you, apparently only silent when not in gunboat-sized boots. "I saw a cardinal!" he exclaimed, "I got a picture too, look." There was a blurry mass of white with one brilliant speck of red proudly displayed on the dim phone screen he shoved at you.

You fought a laugh, resorting to rumpling his ski cap in a halfhearted attempt at a noogie. He grinned down at you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders after a second and aiming the front facing camera at the two of you. You were caught off guard, staring up at him while he smiled and took a picture.

"There! Now I won't forget." Roman seemed ridiculously satisfied with himself, tramping on ahead of you (albeit in the wrong direction). You rolled your eyes.

"Roman! Peak is _that_ way!"

…

Night came with another series of flurries, and after stoking the coals back into a cozy fire you and Roman tucked into a hearty dinner of beef stew. A single candle lit the table, the cabin warming up as the evening fell.

"So why _are_ you up here, all alone?" Roman asked while he rinsed the mess kits out in the sink.

"Tradition. I started three or four years ago. Originally there were more of us coming up the first time I came, but the weather was so bad I was the only one that made it." you shrugged, "I kinda' just kept coming back alone after that."

"A quiet New Years."

"Yep."

He fell silent for a few minutes, scrubbing a little harder than he needed to at a spot on his camp mug. "I'm uh. I'm sorry that I'm kind of fucking up your shit." he said bluntly. "Traditions are a big deal in my family, so I understand that I'm intruding."

"Hey, it's okay." you put a hand on his arm again, feeling him tense and watching the black ink shift under your touch. "I'm glad I'm not alone for once." You tapped his wrist. "Is this a tradition?"

"Is wh...oh! Yeah. My family is really close. A lot of us have the tattoos. It's great when we all get together, y'know? We play football and all our moms scold us when we're rough." He smiled fondly. "We raise hell. Me, my brother and sister and cousins. Cracking foreheads together and hollering."

"You sound like you have a lot of fun. Why come up here for New Years? Why not be with your family?" you asked curiously.

Roman's look turned serious, gray eyes falling to stare at the sink. "I have a lot to be thankful for. My family, my life. But after all the shit that happened earlier this year I...I needed to get back on track. Refocus. I figured a hike through a damn blizzard would straighten me out."

Silence reigned between the two of you as you laid the mess kits out to dry. The expression on his face seemed a little melancholy.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here. You're...a welcome addition." you said finally.

Roman lit up, smiling down at you. "Yeah?"

You couldn't help smiling back. "Yeah. Wanna stick around, help me ring in the new year tomorrow night?"

"Absolutely. You saved my life, after all."

The mood lightened as the evening carried on, the two of you sitting at the table with steaming mugs of hot cocoa while he flipped through the pictures and videos on his phone. Roman had so many good memories to share, his voice low and excited as he talked. He used his hands to illustrate points; his whole body was enthusiastically expressive and you just watched and listened while he reminisced.

"They won't believe me if I tell them I met a cute babe in a cabin out in the woods somewhere, that's for sure. Took your picture so they'd have to believe me." Roman pushed the hair back from his face again, and you found yourself tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.

"It was bugging me." you explained when he paused. "You were saying?"

"I was, wasn't I. Huh." Roman seemed at a loss for words, raising a hand to tentatively cup your face. He exhaled hard when you leaned into his grip, closing your eyes for a second. His thumb rubbed gently across your cheek. "Hey." he murmured, "I'm glad I'm up here with you, y'know that?"

"Why?"

"Why the hell not?" Roman asked, answering your question with one of his own. "You've been nothing but kind to me this whole time. Taught me some stuff, like maybe next time I ought to laminate my map or use a little more care when picking a sleeping bag." he said ruefully, making you snicker. "If you weren't up here I...I don't know what would have happened to me. So uh. Thank you."

"You're hardly someone difficult to deal with, Roman." you scoffed, fighting back a blush when he removed his hand. "You've been no trouble at all, and I've enjoyed having you around. I'm so used to being alone up here."

His eyes flicked down to your lips and then back up. "I'm glad that we could help each other out. I feel like you got the worse end of the deal though." he joked, getting to his feet and then stretching luxuriously, exposing what might as well be miles upon miles of tanned, well-toned muscle.

Your mouth went dry and you gulped, tearing your eyes away from him before he could notice you gawking. "Well, it's been a long day. And it'll be even longer tomorrow, New Years and all that." you managed to say, almost tripping over the bench in your haste to stand up from the table.

Roman caught you, his hand gentle on your forearm. He stared at you for a minute with a serious expression before releasing you, his brow furrowed like he was thinking hard about something.

"You okay?" you asked pensively, confused by his actions. Roman's only response was a silent half-smile before he laid down on his bunk and wrapped up in his sleeping bag again.

You tossed and turned that night, unable to get comfortable. That look taunted you, demanded that you think and overthink about it.

 _He looked like he was trying to figure something out_. _Probably deciding when to leave in the morning._

 _I wonder if he wanted to kiss me._

You huffed at your train of thought. _Come on, pull yourself together. Don't be creepy. He's nice, yeah, but you're not irresistible by any means. Best to leave that where it is._

Roman shifted in his bunk across from you and you froze, the noise near deafening in the pre-dawn silence. He was shivering hard enough for you to hear that thin sleeping bag crinkling uneasily beneath him, and you sighed. "Roman?"

"Mmmhm?" he mumbled sleepily.

"You want my sleeping bag? You sound like you're freezing." you offered, wrapping your sleeping bag around you to make the trek across the room. The chill of the floor leeched in through your thick stockings, making you wince and quickly scoot to his bunk.

Roman groaned, "M' c-c- _cold_ , baby girl." the pet name stopping you dead in your tracks momentarily. You thanked God for the fact that it was almost pitch black in the cabin, so no one could see the _neon_ flush that was surely coloring your face.

"Hey, here." you said softly, extending a corner of sleeping bag for him to take. Instead a strong hand gripped your own, and Roman yanked you (somewhat gracelessly) into the bunk with him. You barely missed knocking yourself out on the upper bunk, ducking at the last second. "Roman?!" you hissed indignantly, heart pounding as he pressed you against his chest and hummed in what seemed to be happiness.

"Good...warm." he mumbled into your hair while petting it, his other hand tugging your thick sleeping bag across the two of you. "...sleep."

A leg flung over yours and you were cocooned in warmth. Your eyes drifted shut as his even breathing calmed your racing heart, and before you knew it you were sound asleep.

…

"Morning, how'd you sleep?"

You grumbled, still half-asleep as you snuggled down into the chest of _whoever_ and waved your arm in irritation at _whatever_ was trying to wake you. "Shhh."

"My bad, baby girl." Whoever it was sounded like they were trying hard not to laugh, fingers twining through your own and pulling your hand back under the sleeping bag.

"Good dream." you sighed contentedly, not wanting to wake up from this comfortable state.

"I'm really sorry to wake you, but we kind of slept in from the looks of things."

That was Roman's voice.

You were in Roman's bunk.

 _With_ Roman.

You sat bolt upright and regretted it instantly as you cracked your forehead against the bottom of the top bunk. " _Ah!_ Fuck!" you burst out, feeling like an absolute idiot as you waited for the pain to calm down with a hand pressed to your forehead.

"Jesus! You okay?" Roman asked worriedly as you blinked back reflex tears, his hand rubbing small circles on your back.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just damn near rang my own bell." you mumbled. "Hell of a way to start the day."

"Well I mean, now you could say you _rang in_ the New Year." The grin Roman gave you was almost enough to keep you from walloping him in the shoulder as hard as you could.

Almost.

"Gee, nothing like a _dad joke_ to cheer me up." you said sarcastically as he rubbed at his shoulder and grimaced. "Ugh, what time is it?"

"It's almost ten. I dunno' about you but I'm fucking _ravenous_."

"Same." _Oh god no no not like that come on._ _Food, he's talking about_ _ **food**_ _, control yourself!_ you thought in exasperation. "C'mon, let's make breakfast."

…

The old broom still cleaned the porch fine, just like last year. You leaned on it, sighing as you watched the snow drift down lazily. Your hair was damp from washing up, chilling your head even under your hat. _Another year about to begin. Who knows what might happen?_ you mused, sweeping the light flakes off the steps. The memory of Roman literally pulling you into bed floated to the surface and you blushed, slowing to a stop. _I definitely didn't see Tall, Dark, and Handsome in my future when I headed up here_.

"Need a hand out here, baby girl?"

 _Speak of the devil_. You shook your head no, partially at yourself and partially at Roman, who sported similarly wet hair from his own morning bath. "I'm all set. Done. Until more piles up, anyhow." you said curtly, leaning the broom beside the door and coming back inside. He followed you, leaning on the door frame while you started unlacing your boots.

"Do you uh...you wanna' go for a hike or something? Like yesterday?" he asked hesitantly. "Or is it too dangerous with the weather being how it is?"

He sounded nervous and it caught you off guard, your hands pausing. "...we should be okay? If you'd like to, we can try for the peak again." you answered finally, retying your boot. "Besides, what's New Years Eve without a dumb quest or two?"

"Yeah!" The smile he directed your way made you grateful you were sitting, your whole body feeling hot. Shit, did the man steal the _sun_ from Florida when he came up here?! "Maybe a new tradition?" Roman continued, mischief plain in that grin.

The peak was alive with hikers despite the snow, everyone making the long haul to climb to the top as the start of their respective New Years resolutions. Some experienced, others...well, Roman may have found a few kindred spirits. You heard the phrase " _she saved my life, y'know_ " leave his mouth more than once as the two of you chatted with the group. Eventually his arm wrapped around your shoulders, fitting you into his side like you belonged there.

When the sun broke through briefly around one o' clock, it inspired a chorus of cheers. Roman raised his hand with his fingers curled into the "hang loose" gesture, closing his eyes as he tilted his face upwards. You nudged him in the ribs after he stayed that way for a little while, and he blinked down at you drowsily.

"Wanna' head home?" you asked, surprised when he nodded and stood to help you up.

"It's fucking beautiful up here, baby girl." Roman's voice was so soft you almost missed his comment on the way back to the cabin, the snapping of his phone taking pictures the only other sound. "I can hardly believe it sometimes. I mean, we see this stuff on Christmas cards, but having it in front of you...it's pretty amazing."

"Well I'm sure the mountain appreciates your respect." you jibed, making him chuckle.

"She beat respect into me with the hike up, no doubt there."

Roman caught your hand under the shelter of a picturesque pine tree, his smile back in full force as he took another photo of the two of you. You at least had the good sense to smile at the camera this time. "Why do you keep doing that?" you asked curiously as he zipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Beauty needs to be documented." Roman's face had gone serious again, the mittened fingers in your own squeezing slightly before letting go. "I don't want to forget this. I think it's definitely in the running for best New Years yet." he said honestly, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. "And I'm not even shitfaced."

You couldn't hold back from laughing at that.

…

When you sat down on your bunk without your sleeping bag after supper, Roman grumbled.

"What?" you asked, raising an eyebrow when he wrapped himself up in _both_ sleeping bags (despite the roaring fire you'd stoked in the stove) and made his way over to plop down sulkily beside you.

"You can't go to sleep _now_ , it's New Years Eve." he scolded. "We gotta' play games and shit. Like twenty questions."

"Another tradition, right?" you grimaced. Roman nodded enthusiastically. "Twenty questions is kind of kid's shit, Roman. No offense or anything."

"Question one," he began, making you snort. "what's your favorite color?"

"Are we really-"

"Hey! _I'm_ the one asking the questions."

"Uh, fucking Georgia. Sue me. I'm _not_ playing this." you protested.

"You forfeit your turn! Question _two_. What's your favorite memory of New Years?"

"I don't _know_ , I've got a lot of them under my belt. You're seriously go-"

"You keep breaking the rules and I'm going to have to kiss you before midnight." Roman said seriously. "And then it won't count."

" _What_ won't count?" you asked in confusion. He replied by running a finger over your lower lip and kissing you softly on the forehead.

"Your New Years kiss. That whole, 'if you kiss this person on New Years you'll be together until the next one' thing. Don't want to spoil it." he explained with a wink.

 _Oh god_.

"Roman..."

"Baby girl, you didn't answer my question. Are you planning on answering?" he teased, nudging you in your side.

"How about _you_ answer one of mine?" you demanded, flustered. "Yesterday night, did you want to kiss me?"

Roman's smug expression faltered, practically answering the question for you. "Well yeah." he said awkwardly after a couple of minutes. "You're beautiful. Why wouldn't I want to kiss you?"

"I um." _Well this has backfired **horribly**_. "Never mind. Next question. I promise I'll answer." you mumbled.

Roman quirked an eyebrow, wrapping the sleeping bag around your shoulders and hugging you. "If you're uncomfortable, we can stop. I'm just fucking around, y'know."

"No no, ask away. I'm already knee-deep in juvenile hell, might as well keep going." you said dryly.

"Just for that _sass_." Roman leaned closer. "Did _you_ want to kiss _me_ last night?" His expression was playful. "Alternatively: did you or did you not enjoy waking up with me this morning?"

"Th-that's two questions." you stammered, feeling heat pool between your legs as he rested a hand on your thigh.

He rolled his eyes. "Just pick one, baby girl."

You were gratified by his surprised gasp when you pulled him in for a kiss. "You ask too many questions." you breathed against his mouth as you drew back.

"I could stop, if you want. We could do something else." Roman offered, looking a little dazed.

"Oh? Like what?"

His reply was to take your hand in his own and place it over the tie on his sweatpants. You could feel him arched against your palm and you bit your lip at the sudden surge of _want_ that came over you. "Or would you rather that I start with you?" he asked, sliding a finger agonizingly slow down the seam of your sleeping shorts and making you squirm.

"It's...I mean it's been a while for me." you admitted, rubbing your hand over his cock through the sweatpants.

Roman quickly wrangled your shorts down to your ass, growling " _how long?_ " like he was offended by the notion that you hadn't gotten laid for any period of time. He didn't seem to actually _expect_ an answer though, feeling how wet you were through your panties and groaning, "Must have been a long fucking time if you're already this worked up, baby girl."

You couldn't help the blush that rose at _that_ , untying his sweats and shoving them down. "How about you fix that, huh?" you suggested boldly, loving the heated look that he gave you afterward.

"Oh, I plan on it."

Roman jerked your shorts down your legs and tossed them to the side, his own sweats following suit. He pressed your back down against the sleeping bag, eyes searching yours as he tugged at your underwear. "New question. And answer honestly." he said, pressing a kiss to your hip. His goatee rasped softly across your skin, making you shiver.

You rolled your eyes. _More questions, seriously? You're fucking gorgeous_ _ **and**_ _naked over me and you have more questions?_

"You want this, right?" he asked quietly, pausing in taking off your panties. "Because if you don't, we'll stop."

"Jesus Christ Roman."

The dark-haired man laughed at the exasperation in your voice. "I have to ask! If the other party isn't into it, then why bother?" he reasoned, your underwear joining the growing pile of clothes on the floor.

"'Shut up', and 'fuck me please'. Those are all the answers you need." you murmured, and he snapped his head up from where he had been kissing your hip again. His pupils were blown wide in the half-light and he licked his lips.

"Damn, baby girl."

"I said please." you repeated, canting your hips up towards him. Roman smiled down at you, hair a complete mess and eyes hungry. His dick slid against your pussy and you whimpered needily.

"You sure fucking did." he whispered, the head of his cock rubbing your clit teasingly. You moaned, rolling your hips up into his and urging him on. "Easy, baby girl. If we go too fast, you'll get hurt. Nice and slow." Roman murmured into your ear, slow apparently meaning _agonizingly glacial_. "Oh _god_ , it's definitely been a while." he groaned through clenched teeth, carefully pressing his cock into your waiting heat.

Your mouth popped open as he bottomed out, a breathless noise pushed from your throat. He shuddered at the sound, crooning wordlessly against your neck as he buried himself in you. "So tight." he managed to say quietly, "so damn fucking. _Tight_."

"God, you're huge." you gasped, closing your eyes and feeling the sensations wash over you. Roman fit into all the right places inside you like no one else had, making a low, sweet ache start in the pit of your stomach.

Roman shook his hair back over his shoulders at your comment, preening a little but then looking worried. "Is it too much?" he asked, cupping your cheek and going still for a moment.

"No, no! Please. I asked for this. Please don't stop." you begged, making him groan.

He rolled his hips against yours, the ache intensifying as he thrust into you. "I want this to be the best New Years you've ever had, baby girl. So no worries there." he panted, arms going rigid on either side of you.

You threw your head back and cried out when he _stopped_ just a few seconds later, pulling out of you. " _Please!_ " It was almost a scream, making Roman's eyes go wide.

" _Damn_." he breathed, kissing you hard and then getting to his feet. "C'mere, I promise it'll be worth it baby girl." he beckoned, smiling at you.

You blushed in embarrassment, your core throbbing with want as you tried to stand. You almost fell, knees shaking a little too hard, and Roman steadied you. His cock pressed against your stomach as he pulled you into him for another kiss. "I want everyone on this fucking mountain to know what we're up to." he said softly, urging you to lean over the table with his hand on your lower back. "Everyone."

You keened as he slid himself back into you from behind, the new angle letting him reach deeper than before. Roman groaned ridiculously loud, his hair brushing your shoulder blades as he bent over you briefly. One of his hands traipsed down your stomach to rub your clit, the other twining through your fingers on the table. "You're so fucking tight, _so_ fucking good, fucking beautiful, _f-fuck_ -"

You pushed back against him, loving how he stammered when you did. "Please." was all you could whimper, feeling his fingers on your clit speed up in time with his thrusts. " _Please_ please-" His other hand kept your arm pinned to the wooden surface beneath you, like an anchor.

"It's alright. I've got you baby girl." Roman murmured. You shook underneath him, your orgasm rolling through you and making you arch against him with a muffled cry. "Fucking _beautiful_." he groaned, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles and then pulling out quickly. " _Fuck_. Would you...?"

Roman wasn't even able to finish his question before you had turned around on unsteady legs, sitting back down on the bench beside the table and wrapping your fingers around his cock. You relished the way he moaned deeply, his hand resting on your shoulder and his breath coming in short bursts. "Fuck fuck _fuck_ -" Roman chanted, shaking his hair back from his face and then watching you slide your hand up and down his shaft. "God baby girl _please_."

"Please what?" you asked quietly, making him suck in a breath. "Can you cum for me? Is that what you want?"

Roman nodded furiously, hips stuttering as he thrust into your hand. You opened your mouth, placing his cock on your tongue and stroking patiently. Roman gasped and then groaned loudly, thrusting into the warmth of your waiting mouth and finally cumming down your throat.

When he was finished he took a shaky step back, running a hand through his hair and sitting down hard on the bunk as you licked your fingers. "Holy shit." he panted, flashing you a mischievous smile. "That was amazing."

"Mmm, agreed." you said, shivering when an aftershock hit you.

Roman held out his hand, ushering you into the warm embrace of the shared sleeping bags and his body. "Happy New Year, baby girl."

"Happy New Year..." Eyes already half-closed, you watched sleepily as the ink and muscle of his arm shifted beside your head. You didn't remember nodding off.

…

The walk down the mountain the next morning was a gray and chilly one. The spell was broken, so to speak. No longer was the snow magical or soft. Now it was just heavy and wet and a nuisance. Roman tramped along behind your supply sled, quiet for the most part. No camera clicks interrupted the silence. All was as it should be.

The two of you made it down to the parking lot a little after noon, your cars huddled together under a thin blanket of white. The lump in your throat intensified as you popped the trunk on your car and started stowing your gear. Roman tossed his pack into the backseat of his own car and then turned back to you.

"I uh...thank you." he said softly. "For everything, baby girl."

You nodded wordlessly, crushing your sleeping bag a little harder than you needed to. Strong arms wrapped around you and you slumped against Roman momentarily, barely holding back a loud sniffle.

"I've had an amazing time with you." he murmured into your hair.

You were proud of the fact that your voice didn't shake when you stepped away from him. "Yeah, it's really been great."

All Roman did in reply was kiss your forehead and push a piece of paper into your hand, a sad smile on his face while he got into his rental. You slammed your fist down on the trunk of your car with a frustrated yell once he was out of sight, feeling like an idiot.

 _It's been great? REALLY?! That was the best you could do?!_ you berated yourself, beginning to yank your heavy clothes off and toss them into the backseat.

* * *

 **AN:** Don't worry, part two will be out soon! I'm a total sucker for this stuff. Enjoy! :D


	3. Chapter 3: New Year Part Two

The woods welcomed you back as always, and you inhaled deeply of the scent of fresh pine and snow. Another year, come and gone. Another trek up the mountain. Another four days to be alone.

A cardinal sang somewhere up in the canopy of pine trees, the noise making you recall...

" _I saw a cardinal!_ "

You shook your head at the memory, feeling silly. It wasn't like you were making a conscious effort to think about Roman. He just...snuck in sometimes. A lot of times, if you were being honest.

 _I wonder how he's doing. Whether he was sad when I didn't call him_.

You had opted to ignore the phone number, email address and note on the piece of paper he'd given you, your mature adult brain telling you that the distance would be too much and he probably wasn't _actually_ interested in you, it had just been a way to pass the time.

You had however, laminated the scrap of paper when it tore from being in your pocket. It stayed in your wallet now, tucked away from sight most of the time. But sometimes, during hard days, you pulled it out so you could read his kind words one more time.

You sighed, adjusting your pack. You had gotten a later start than usual, the sky almost completely dark when you made it to the familiar stand of naked birch that heralded the cabin trail. You trudged on silently, and the closer you got the more you couldn't wait to have a nice cup of hot cocoa and curl up with your favorite book.

As the cabin came into view however, your brow furrowed in irritation. There was a light shining in the window, and smoke issued from the chimney into the twilight. _Fucking pricks_. you thought, overly-used to people who figured that they could extend their vacation a few extra days free of charge. Your sled knocked up the steps with a muffled series of _thunk_ s, and you stormed to the door.

Banging loudly on the door, you took a step back as you heard movement inside. You squared up to your full height and puffed your chest out slightly, ready, willing and fucking _able_ to take someone to task over this. It was _your_ reservation, god dammit, and you weren't about to be cheated out of single hour by some uppity yuppie son of a bitch who thought-

The two deadbolts on the inside slid back and the doorknob creaked.

"Dude, you've got some fucking nerve-!" you began.

"Man, they must have double...booked..." the man's words trailed off when he swung the door open and saw you standing there. Roman looked like he'd seen a ghost, his jaw going tight. You weren't fairing much better, pressing your hands over your mouth. Your eyes blurred with tears while your indignation fled, replaced with a screaming ache in your chest.

A whole year of trying to forget him, of talking yourself out of contacting him and convincing yourself that it was better this way. But here he was, every bit as huge and bright and _real_ as you remembered. His hair was twisted up into a neat bun, and he was wearing that black and gold jacket (which had a little more wear and tear on it now).

"I uh, seem to remember a situation kind of like this." Roman's voice broke your train of thought and you felt a few tears track down your face. "I'd be pretty inhospitable if I turned you away, huh?" he said softly. He reached out a hand. "C'mon in, baby girl. Get warm."

When you took his hand Roman pulled you into a fierce hug. His whole body was hot, radiating like a furnace. "Don't cry, baby girl. It's alright. It's alright." he whispered against the top of your head as you snuffled. Then he asked, "Why didn't you call me?"

He actually sounded _sad_.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to!" you tried to explain while he tugged you inside and started helping you out of your heavy clothes. "I just...I mean, Florida is so far away. And there's got to be a million other more accessible women for you, Roman."

"I don't want any of them." he said firmly.

"Roman-"

"It drove me fucking _nuts_ , you understand that, right?" Roman's face bordered on perplexed and you felt a stab of guilt. You'd been so sure that he hadn't actually _wanted_ you to get in touch with him, you didn't really give any thought to the notion that he might have missed you.

"I don't...I mean I don't really know _why_ you would...I'm just me, y'know?" you reasoned sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck and staring at the floor. Roman's fingers caught your chin, raising your eyes to meet his.

"You were way fucking more than that. You, _just you_ , you were the one who invited a stranger in because he was lost and cold. You dragged me over the damn threshold and probably saved my fucking life by doing so. You taught me and listened to me, and you never acted like I was a nuisance. I...I figured you would want to stay in touch. But when I didn't hear from you..." he paused, his throat working. "It threw me off. I haven't really been able to get you out of my head since last New Years." Roman admitted quietly.

"I'm the same." you said after several seconds of silence. It felt nice to say it out loud. "I'm so sorry. If I wasn't so worried about not being enough we could have skipped a lot of hurt for the both of us."

"It wasn't fair of me to put all the responsibility on you." Roman protested, resting his forehead against yours. "I didn't want to be too presumptuous, but I kicked myself for _months_ for not getting your info before I left. And when I saw that the cabin was open for these four days, I took it. I thought it was open because you weren't going to be here. I needed something concrete to remind me of you when my imagination finally fell flat." Roman closed his eyes. " A year is a long fucking time when you miss someone, baby girl."

He straightened up, gesturing with an open hand to the main bunk area of the cabin. "I started at eight, made it up here by noon. Set everything up. I've been practicing! I brought lighters this time. Firewood too."

You couldn't help the giggle that fought free. Roman seemed so proud of himself. "You've done good, Ro."

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, kissing your forehead. "If I'd known you'd be here I would have packed heavier. Impressed you with my strength and endurance." he joked.

"Last time I checked, packing fifty pounds in _cans_ of beef stew isn't impressive. Just makes for really boring eating."

"It's only twenty-seven pounds of it this time!" he said indignantly.

…

The two of you filled in the blanks on what had happened since you'd last seen each other. You easily fell back into speaking with him, a strange sense of wholeness permeating your conversation and leaving you feeling overly content.

Roman had (of course) _loads_ of pictures and videos to show you. New nieces and nephews, birthdays, a Thanksgiving table that looked a mile long and a Christmas tree stretching to a white cathedral-style ceiling. A fair amount were selfies, triumphant ones at the top of sunny sand dunes, scowling ones at the gym. He played a few videos of him climbing with his twin cousins.

You swallowed, watching the shift and twist of the muscles in his arms and legs as he hung easily off a rock face and hollered playful abuse back and forth with the twins. Roman nudged your shoulder, a teasing grin on his face. "Like what you see, baby girl? The big guy is single, y'know."

"Ha ha, so funny." you stuck your tongue out at him, shocked when he leaned down and pressed his mouth over yours. Roman groaned when you tentatively rested your hands on his chest, breaking away to yank his shirt off over his head.

"Here, touch me here." he practically begged, dragging your hands back to his chest. "It's been so fucking long. Please."

Your fingers ran across the bold ink, his chest heaving under your touch. You could feel how fast his heart was beating and your eyes widened. _I guess he really does like me_.

"I haven't been able to get you out of my head, baby girl. No one else would do it for me." Roman said fiercely. "I've missed you so fucking much."

"I missed you too, Roman." your voice was soft, when really you wanted to yell it. Not contacting him had been the hardest thing in the world, common sense or no. _Especially_ after reading and rereading the note he'd left above his contact information...

 _I've never met anyone like you before._

 _I won't say love, because that's a damn scary word to use with someone you've only just met. But over these four days you've shown me more kindness and patience than a lot of people see in their whole life._

 _The long and short of it is that I think you're amazing, and I would love to get to know you better. So just give me a call whenever, and we'll work out a visit. Go on a date. Normal stuff._

 _Sincerely, Roman._

"My mom said that I was a fucking idiot for not getting your number." Roman's grin was rueful. "She doesn't swear much, so it was kind of an experience to hear that from her. Of course, my dad said the same thing." You carded your hands through his hair, having denied yourself that pleasure long enough. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes in bliss.

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey. Not your fault. Like I said, putting all the responsibility on you was shitty on my part. _I'm_ sorry for that." Roman locked eyes with you and you were blindsided by the emotion you saw there.

Your heart swelled in your chest and your own gaze got a little damp. You cleared your throat, getting to your feet and pulling on his hand so he stood as well. "I think it's time for bed, don't you Roman?"

"Oh _God_." he groaned, kissing you and then nipping your lower lip. "It's more than time."

Roman was gentle with you, murmuring equal parts praise and curses against your skin while he stripped you naked. You were grateful for the privacy of the cabin when he lowered his mouth to your aching pussy and made you cry out in ecstasy with his skilled tongue.

He was insatiable and you loved it, the both of you having missed each other more than enough through the past year.

When you finally fell asleep sometime in the gray dawn of the morning, you were utterly exhausted. Roman murmured wordlessly into your hair and soothed your still-thrumming nerves, even while clearly fighting his own battle with sleep.

…

"Baby girl, you gotta' wake up. We slept past noon." Roman's voice breathed against your ear and you shuddered involuntarily.

"This is a dream. Don't need to get up. Just need you to fuck me 'til I can't walk." you mumbled. "If I wake up you're gone n' I'm all alone again."

His laughter broke out and strong arms wound around you, hugging tightly. "You're not getting rid of me that easy, baby girl."

Eyes still closed, your fingers quested lazily across the skin of his chest, up his neck and then pressed against his lips. "Shush." He kissed the pads of your index and thumb, and you could feel his smile. You'd had a few realistic dreams of him before, but this one seemed a little _too_ good. "I'm not dreaming, am I."

"Nope."

"Ah. Well then." You opened your eyes the tiniest bit, squeaking when Roman got up out of the bunk and started throwing his clothes on. "How can you still move?!"

"I won't lie, you did a number on me." The smile he graced you with made your tired body stir, just enough to bewilder you. "I don't think I've ever..." Roman knelt beside the bed as his words slowed to a halt, taking your hands in his own. "I'm so fucking happy, you have no idea." he said finally, seeming confused. "I shouldn't be this happy, y'know? I love that I am, but still. Its strange."

"I'm just _that_ good." you offered in explanation, laying back and stretching with a loud, distinctly non-glamorous yawn. Roman chuckled, ruffling your hair and standing.

"Did I perform well for you, ma'am?" he asked, bowing deeply.

"Oh you are _top-notch_ , no doubts there." you said pompously, sticking your hand out of the warm sleeping bag. "Now help me stand."

Lunch was a languid affair, Roman and you slowly powering through some freeze-dried lasagne. Afterward you pulled a notebook out of your backpack, clicking your pen and starting to write. "What's up boss?" Roman asked, slinging his arms around your shoulders to hug you from behind.

"I'm writing this for you now, so nothing dumb happens." you said, making sure there weren't any misspelled words as you jotted down your email and phone number. Roman kissed your ear, and his stubble rubbed against your cheek when he smiled.

"Thank you."

You flushed at the gratitude in his voice. "It's not really a big deal, Roman."

"It really kind of is. And I think you know it." he murmured, releasing you and starting to struggle into his hiking pants. "We have to go to the summit today. Tradition." Roman continued, sounding a bit less serious. "Gotta' do it."

"Alright, I suppose. Can't just sit around the cabin and do nothing." you agreed, giving your contact info another once-over and then handing him the paper. "Keep that safe. You're not getting another one." you threatened playfully, making him laugh.

…

The sky was overcast with the promise of more snow as the two of you scrabbled across the rocky trail to the top of the mountain. Strangely enough, the camera clicks no longer seemed out of place. It was a little funny how fast you had gotten used to having Roman around, even after not seeing him for a year.

"I can see why you come here." Roman said softly, watching as you brushed snow off some stones at the summit and carefully stacked them on top of one another in a sort of makeshift cairn. "It's so peaceful. Compared to how loud and crowded most places are, this is kind of heavenly."

The camera snapped again, capturing your neat little pile. "I'm really, _really_ glad that you're here with me." You bit your lip when he turned to you, phone slack in his hands and eyes wide. "You make me happy, Roman. Like, kind of stupidly happy. I'm just glad that I got another chance."

"So am I, baby girl." His smile warmed you more than you cared to admit. "This shit works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?"

"It sure does."

…

You were awoken in the wee hours of the morning by Roman shifting behind you with a quiet groan. "Ro?" you asked sleepily, rolling over and laying a hand on his arm. You stroked it appreciatively, going to hold his hand. Your fingers made their way down his arm until you met the waistband of his sweatpants.

"I didn't want to wake you up." he said guiltily, stopping when you raised your hand.

You bit your lip, touching his wrist. "Do you want me to...?" you trailed off, running your hand down the front of his sweats.

Roman swallowed hard, not objecting when you tugged his sweatpants down around his knees. "I'd kind of like you to ride me," he admitted, "if you're not too tired, that is?"

"This isn't stuff you normally _ask_ someone to do, Roman. It's usually a command." you teased, giggling when you heard him huff in annoyance.

"Fine." His large hand suddenly wrapped around the back of your neck, hauling you in close enough to feel his breath ghosting across your lips. "I'd like it very, _very_ much," he growled, "if you would ride my fucking dick until you cum." His stern tone made you shiver and press yourself closer to him.

"Y-yeah, I think I can manage that." you tried to answer flippantly, but your stammer gave you away. You could almost _feel_ Roman smirking in the dark as you shed your panties.

"Good girl. Hop on up now." he instructed, and you felt his fingers touch yours for a second at the base of his cock. "I'm waiting."

"Bra on or bra off?" you asked, Roman wordlessly answering your question by scooting a strap down your shoulder. "Okay, one sec."

"Still haven't gotten the hang of those hooks." Roman mumbled, making you chuckle. "At least, not in the dark." he quickly added, hissing out a breath afterward as you slowly sank down onto him. " _Jesus_ , baby girl." His hands immediately went after your breasts, kneading and fondling them. "You feel so fucking _good_."

Your body was flooded with heat, both from his words and the skin contact. You moaned and he answered you just as loudly, clearly unashamed in his enjoyment of you. "You take me _so_ fucking well, baby girl. Holy _shit_."

You could hardly form words as he shifted your hips against his, one of his hands flying to cup the back of your head when he did. "Gotta' make sure you don't ring your bell again." he panted, laughing breathlessly when you smacked him on the chest.

"You _would_ bring that u-up!" your words hitched when he thrust up into you, and you rolled your hips in reply.

"How are you this fucking _good_ ," Roman sounded bewildered, "shit. _Shit_." he swore, giving a drawn-out groan when you bent to mouth over his neck. "You're fucking _killing_ me, baby girl."

"So try and stop me." you challenged, feeling his fingers dig in to your hips.

"Oh you do _not_ want to go there, baby girl."

You gasped when he gripped you to his chest and rolled over, pinning you to the sleeping bag. He quickly hooked your knees up over his shoulders, the new position making you moan as he sank deep into you. "Suddenly, you don't seem to be doing much." Roman teased, fingers toying with your right nipple.

He took hold of your hips again and thrust home. "More." you begged shamelessly, hands cupping his face. Your thumbs brushed across the scruff on his cheeks, and he ducked his head to kiss your palm sloppily. " _Please_ , Roman."

"Roman's got you, baby girl. Come undone for me. Let me fuck you through it," he said softly, "let me feel you cum around me again, I want it so _bad_ -"

You whimpered, his words and firm strokes pushing you over your edge. You arched up underneath him, feeling overstimulated but your whole body still demanding you meet him thrust for thrust. Roman growled, crushing his hips to yours and then quickening his pace. He barely pulled out before slamming back in, creating a frantic, almost humping motion that ground his taut stomach and pelvis against your clit.

"Oh _god-!_ " Your whole body tightened up again, the speed of your readiness shocking you as you felt a second orgasm creep in.

Roman shook his head, pressing a kiss to the side of your thigh over his shoulder and breathing hard. "Don't want to not yet don't want to not yet-" he chanted, groaning when you cried out your completion. "Oh _fuck_." he said helplessly, and you felt him quickly pull out. Warmth landed on your stomach, Roman knocking his forehead gently into your own. "God, god, _Jesus_ fuck." he sighed. "You're so fucking amazing, you know that?"

You kissed him drowsily, sleep already pulling at you again now that you were sated. "Come back to bed with me, okay?" you murmured.

…

New Years Eve found the cabin buried, after a snowstorm that carried on well into the day. You had gone out to sweep off the porch numerous times, eyes and ears open for any hikers that had gotten caught in the storm. After what happened to Roman the first time he'd been here, you didn't want to take any chances.

Roman spent most of the day tramping through the snow around the cabin, taking pictures of everything from the cabin itself to you sweeping quietly. Naturally you protested, even though secretly you relished the attention. It was nice to have someone who actually enjoyed your company.

"I'm gonna' have to send a few of these to my mom." Roman said as he stepped up onto the porch, fingers tapping away at his phone screen. "I mean, I don't have reception up here so not now or anything. Good news is, battery life on this thing is _infinite_ when it's on airplane mode."

"Yeah but once you get back down to the parking lot that poor phone is probably going to erupt with texts and missed calls." you pointed out.

Roman shrugged. "I'll take it. I need all the pictures I can get. Don't want to miss anything." he said seriously, cold fingers gripping your chin and tilting your face up to meet his eyes. He smiled widely at you and you blinked in confusion, before realizing the phone coyly shielded in his other hand was aimed at your face.

"Whoa, hey, c'mon! Give a girl some warning!" you protested, making Roman laugh.

"And miss how expressive you are when you're not all tense? No thanks. I like you like this." He kissed your forehead. "I especially like it when you blush like that."

"I do _not-!_ "

"I've got some pictures that would say otherwiiiiiise." Roman sang, hastily jumping out of reach when you swung the broom at him halfheartedly.

...

Roman couldn't seem to wait until after you were done repacking your bag that evening, finally dragging you across the table into a bruising kiss. You moaned into his mouth, slightly startled at his urgency but completely willing to go along with it.

He begged permission with his mouth even while his hands yanked at your clothes. When he paused to whisper, " _it's almost New Years, baby girl_ ", you understood why he was so eager.

"I know." you murmured against his mouth.

Roman groaned, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I'm going to fucking do without you."

"We'll figure _something_ out, Roman. I'm not letting you go again." you said firmly.

His chest heaved against yours as he sucked in a surprised breath. "Baby girl...it means so much to hear you say that."

"Hey, I gave you up once. It was pretty shitty. I couldn't get you out of my head for hardly any time at all." you teased, excited when a barely-visible blush snuck across his face.

"Hell." Roman seemed at a loss for words, all smiles as he kissed you again. He pressed you to lay back on the table, knocking a few things out of the way (that may or may not have been important, but you'd scold him later).

Roman leaned down to gently kiss your pussy, his hands keeping your thighs spread. He circled your clit once with his tongue, making a soft noise of satisfaction as you ran shaking fingers through his hair over and over in reply. "Gonna' make you feel so good, baby girl." his voice was a low, almost feral growl. The tone of it sang through your body, making your stomach twist with want. He opened his mouth again and gave you an achingly slow lick, flattening his tongue against your cunt and dragging a whimper of his name out of you with the motion.

"I'm going to miss this." Roman groaned, one of his hands leaving you momentarily to adjust himself through his pants.

You bit down on one of your knuckles as he continued, mercilessly bringing you closer to completion with careful tongue and fingers. You ended up arching off the table and Roman ' _tsk'_ ed, dropping one strong arm to rest heavily across your hips, pressing you harder into the wood and keeping you steady while he thrust his fingers into you underneath his questing tongue.

"Oh _god_ , Ro-!" you whimpered, and he hummed against you, finally tipping you over your edge for the first time that night. His tempo slowed as you shuddered, licks gentling and staying away from your sensitive bud.

"Good?" Roman asked, yelping when you grabbed a handful of his thick hair and pulled him up to press your mouth to his.

"You'd better get into me." you said, not caring about how desperate you sounded as you took in how thoroughly sloppy he looked. Hair all tangled and eyes wide, chin coated liberally in the remains of your orgasm. "After all, we've only got a little time left." You could taste yourself on his lips when you drew him back in for another kiss.

Roman surged forward at your demand, fingers fumbling with the button on his pants. He was already slotted in between your legs, fitting better than you dared to admit. He didn't even bother getting his pants off, just pushed them down far enough to free his cock and then...

You had closed your eyes in anticipation, but when nothing happened you opened them again.

He was just propped up over you on one arm, a pained look on his face. "You're beautiful." he said quietly, making you flush. "And I swear, if this is the last time I get to do this..." he trailed off, sliding his cock into you.

You gave a low cry, wrapping your legs around his hips. "You can do this to me whenever you want, Roman. _Whenever you want_." you blurted.

Roman moaned, burying his face in your neck as he set a fast pace. "I'm not going to last. Not like this," he panted, "not knowing that this could be the last time for a long time." His hand reached down between the two of you to rub rough little circles on your clit. "But I want you to cum with me when I do."

You gasped, raising your hips to grind harder against his hand and cock. "I'll try, Roman." you managed to say.

"Oh no you don't." Roman grunted. "You're _going_ to. There's no fucking trying here." He rocked against you harder than before, knocking you up the table an inch or so. "You're going to cum all over me as I cum inside you, and its going to be fucking _mind-blowing_ , so do me a favor-" Roman pressed his forehead to yours, making you hold his gaze while he fucked you. "-and stay with me, baby girl."

You blushed again at the intensity of his look, dimly wondering why your body even put in the effort to redden your cheeks at this point. He had a downright heart-wrenching expression on his face, gray eyes full of hurt and fear and _want_ all at once.

"I'm not going anywhere, Roman." you murmured, making those eyes go wide. "Not ever again."

"You promise?" he asked, groaning when you shifted against him.

"Yeah." You knew your smile was probably too wide, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. Your stomach dropped out when Roman rubbed his thumb hard against your clit, like a reward for your promise. You gasped, fingers digging into his biceps as your orgasm caught you suddenly and made you buck underneath him. " _Roman!_ "

Roman snarled out a " _good_ ", closing his eyes and tilting his head back. His hips shuddered to a stop and warmth flooded you, the sensation making you cry out. He moaned your name in reply, kissing your forehead. " _Fuck._ " he said breathlessly. "Fuck, fuck. Wow."

You couldn't answer yet, panting for breath as you came back down. He laughed, sounding ridiculously happy as he peppered your face and neck with light, ticklish kisses. "You're fucking _incredible_ , you know that?"

"I try." you managed to say finally as he pulled out. Roman worriedly slid an arm under your shoulders, helping you sit up.

"Was that too much? Shit, it probably was. I'm so sorry, baby girl, I-" he panicked before you pressed your lips to his, effectively shutting him up.

"It was fucking phenomenal, don't you dare apologize." you ordered when the two of you parted, unable to hold back a giggle at his dumbfounded expression and the flush that rose on his cheekbones. "Happy New Year, Roman."

"Happy fucking New Year." he replied, kissing you again.

…

The hike down the mountain was certainly different from last year's. The day was clear and cold, blue sky peering through the gaps in the pine trees. The two of you walked next to each other, talking quietly about what would happen in the coming months.

You were three-quarters of the way down the mountain when Roman grabbed your hand and hauled you off to the side of the trail. He held his phone out at arms length and you laughed when he snapped a picture. "You're pitiful, you know that?"

"No, I have _reception_." Roman watched with a grin as realization dawned on you, tapping at his phone screen for a few minutes before locking it again. "That right there is going _straight_ to my mom."

"You'd better silence that thing." you blustered as he kissed your cheek." You'll scare off everything in a ten-mile radius."

True to your warning the phone lit up with a text, the tone deafening in the quiet. Roman almost dropped the phone in his haste to read it, his grin broadening as he tapped away.

"She wants me to call her." he laughed, turning the screen so you could see the words in all caps beneath the sent picture of the two of you.

 _-CALL ME!_

 _-Reception isn't great yet. Will call when I get to the car, low battery. Love you mom._

"She might be almost as excited as I was." Roman chuckled, tugging you close and kissing the top of your head. "I should be getting a text from my dad soon." The phone _dinged_ again. "And there he is."

 _-rOMAN YOUR MOTHER WANTS YOU TO CALL HER._

- _I know dad. I will._

- _wILL EXPECT DETAILS YOU KNOW HOW SHE GETS_.

You couldn't help the giggle at the order, Roman rolling his eyes and locking his phone again.

"They mean well."

"They're _parents_ , Roman. I hardly expect anything less." you teased, continuing down the snowy trail.

When you reached the parking lot it was almost one o' clock. Roman bounded ahead of you to his rental, unlocking it and yanking the driver side door open quickly so he could plug in his phone. You unlocked your own car, throwing your heavy pack and supply sled into the backseat before leaning back and crossing your arms.

Roman winced, jerking the phone away from his ear as he fumbled out of his pack. "I know, Mom, I know. I'm sorry. They don't really have _outlets_ up at the top of the mountain." he apologized, "We just got back down now. In one piece, as you can see. Yeah, uh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have her info. I mean, she's still here and stuff." He mouthed _mom says hi_ at you, making you laugh. "I know. I'll call you when I get to the airport, okay? I'm gonna' just charge my phone for the drive. Love you."

"How is she taking this?" you asked, feeling your chest tighten with nerves.

Roman's easy shrug banished them almost instantly. "She hasn't met you, but if she told me to say hi to you for her, there's hope. I've got to leave soon, baby girl." he said regretfully, pulling you in for another hug and resting his cheek on the top of your head. "Otherwise I'll miss my flight."

"I know. Text me when you get a second?" you asked hopefully, nudging your cold nose against his jacket.

He smiled, kissing you until you were breathless. "I'll always have a second for you, baby girl. Here's to the first day of the new year."

"And many, many more."

* * *

 **AN:** We made it guys! A big thanks goes to toxicpop over on AO3, YOU'RE THE BEST! Thank you everyone so much for reading!


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